Sex determination scan centres under scanner

Pre-natal sex determination centres have come under scanner with the State waking up to a drastic fall in girl child ratio in Andhra Pradesh.

A recent meeting conducted by State Principal Secretary for Health, Medical and Family Welfare P.V. Ramesh, along with Medical and Health Officers of various districts and other stake holders, admitted to shortcomings in the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Detection Act (PCPNDT Act).

They discussed threadbare the issues related to the Act and how best to enforce the law to improve the girl child ratio in the State.

The authorities directed the DM & HOs to allocate a minimum of four hours every week for inspection of the scan centres.

The pre-natal sex determination centres which had not registered might face the axe in the form of issue of notices in the preliminary stage while persistence of any negligence on this count might even prompt the authorities to seal the centre and book cases for violation of law.

Krishna district has 230 scan centres. “All these scan centres are registered and we have undertaken a fresh drive to check if there is any violation of rule,” the Medical and Health Officer of Krishna district Shalini Devi, told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Further dip

While 2001 census projected the girl sex ratio as 963 (for every 1000 men), the number dipped further to 943 in 2011 census causing concern to officials concerned.

In Krishna district there has been a marginal increase of 1 per cent in the child sex ratio in the last 10 years. “If there is any evidence of the scan centres revealing the sex of the foetus, we'll book cases,” said Dr. Shalini Devi.

But, sources said that gross violation of the PCPNDT Act was rampant at every level even as the authorities seem helpless on this count. The committees formed at the State, district and sub-district level to monitor effective implementation of the Act, were defunct.

No separate allocation of budget was made, and legally it was difficult to prove a case and thus punishment was rare.

Slideshow

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) organised a mock demonstration on ways to rescue people drowning in River Krishna in the presence of its Director General O.P. Singh at Seethanagaram in Guntur District on Tuesday. The Hindu photographer V. Raju captures the action.